Reunion of Brothers
by ChimeraDragon
Summary: After Advent Children. Cloud finds Yazoo and Loz, both are suffering from Geostigma and he takes them in. But what else awaits?
1. Chapter 1

Title: none

Author: ChimeraDragon

Warnings: Slight spoiler about end of Advent Children

"Yazoo, daijobu desu ka"? Loz asked his long-haired brother who lay limply on the couch of their current hideout.

"Daijobu," Yazoo replied, opening one eye to glance at his short-haired brother before flopping back onto the couch.

"Don't lie to us, Yazoo," Kadaj reprimanded gently. He came and sat down next to Yazoo on the couch. "You've been sleeping a lot lately."

"So? We've been fighting a lot lately," Yazoo countered.

"How is your Geostigma?" Kadaj asked.

"Fine," Yazoo replied flatly. He stood up and moved to go outside.

"Prove it," Loz demanded, standing in front of his brother, preventing him from leaving. He crossed his arms over his chest defiantly.

"Why should I? Do you not trust me?" Yazoo demanded moodily.

"It's not that…" Loz began looking worried and as though he was about to cry.

"It's alright, Loz. Don't cry," Yazoo soothed. "I'll show you." He quickly unzipped his coat and let it fall on the couch, revealing smooth pale skin that was broken up by patches of slightly oozing blackened skin and bandages.

"Yazoo…" Kadaj began, moving to touch one of the darker patches and saw it ooze as Yazoo grunted quietly in pain. "Take of your gloves too."

"Fine," Yazoo replied defeated, and threw his gloves on top of his coat.

"Yazoo, your hands," Loz said worriedly picking up Yazoo's right hand which had large dark black patches; the left wasn't quite as bad.

"Is this why you've been shooting left-handed more as of late?" Kadaj asked noticing the black oozing from Yazoo's hand where Loz was holding it.

"Partially, it's not that painful," Yazoo replied. He looked at Kadaj, "How is your Geostigma?"

"Not too bad," Kadaj replied removing his gloves and showing that his hands only a hint of darkness dusting them. "My hands are just fine, but my back is doing worse. We should change our bandages before we go see Rufus today."

"I'm fine," Loz insisted. Yazoo and Kadaj gave him a withering look. "Okay, okay. I'll change mine too," Loz said with a pout.

"We all have to take care of each other," Yazoo replied sitting down with a sigh. "Loz, would you go get the med-kit?"

"Sure!" Loz replied happily, and quickly made his way to the back of their hide out where the med-kit lay.

Kadaj unbuckled the belts on his legs and laid his coat on the couch. Loz came back with the kit in hand. Yazoo carefully began removing the bandages from around Kadaj's chest and upper arms.

"Got it!" Loz said triumphantly as he set the kit down on the table next to Kadaj and Yazoo.

"Thank you, Loz," Yazoo replied distractedly. He took an alcohol swab out of the kit and began cleaning the ooze from Kadaj's torso. He then carefully and tightly bandaged the black marks across Kadaj's chest.

"Thank you, Yazoo," Kadaj said as Yazoo worked on his left arm.

"No problem, what are brothers for?" Yazoo replied brushing his hair out of his eyes. He quickly finished with Kadaj and turned to Loz.

"What?" Loz asked trying to pretend to be innocent.

"Sit," Yazoo commanded looking up his brother.

"Okay," Loz consented and grudgingly took off his coat and gloves. Loz was the luckiest of the three of them; he only had 2 spots of Geostigma. One on his right bicep and the other on his left forearm which he protected with the Dual Hound since it was the worst spot. "Ow," Loz whined at Yazoo as he cleaned the spots.

"Don't cry, Loz, it doesn't suit you," Kadaj jeered as he finished re-buckling his coat to his legs.

"I'm not crying!" Loz insisted as Yazoo finished binding the infected areas.

"Your turn, Yazoo," Kadaj said as he took up Loz's place next to Yazoo while Loz put his coat back on.

"I know," Yazoo replied. He sat perfectly still while Kadaj removed the bandages. Yazoo's whole right arm was streaked with Geostigma, as was his back with patches going up to his collarbone and a bit of his neck, a few streaks dipped onto his chest and a bit on his stomach.

"Geeze, Yazoo," Loz commented looking at all of the Geostigma on Yazoo's body. He sat down behind Yazoo and helped Kadaj clean Yazoo's injuries.

"I know, Loz," Yazoo replied. He winced as Loz accidentally pressed too hard on one of the spots he was working on. "Don't say anything," Yazoo mouthed to Kadaj who was looking right at him. "He's only trying to help, and this didn't use to hurt."

"Okay," Kadaj whispered back and began binding Yazoo's neck and chest.

"Don't wrap my hand," Yazoo said as Kadaj moved down his arm with the bandages.

"Why not?" Kadaj asked cocking his head.

"I want to be able to use my hand," Yazoo replied. "I'll be okay, since the rest of it is bound up."

"Alright," Kadaj consent, knowing how much his brother needed dexterity in his hands.

After the battle with Sephiroth and the rooftop explosion . . .

Cloud looked at the spot where the two brothers of Kadaj had been standing and saw the two lying unmovingly. He walked over to the two brothers and checked to see if they were still alive. Both of them were still alive but not doing well. He waved at the Sierra and Cid moved it into position above them. Cloud was not about to leave his enemies to die slowly, since it was obvious that the rain was killing them. He carefully carried both of them on board.

"What the hell are you bringing them on board for?" Cid demanded looking at the two unconscious males Cloud had just brought on board.

"I couldn't leave them," Cloud replied.

"Well," Cid paused for a moment. "At least tie them up," he relented. "I don't trust 'em."

"Why did you bring them on board?" Yuffie asked curious.

"The rain was killing them," Cloud replied solemnly as he got up to look for something.

"It what!" Cid and Barret yelled, shocked by Cloud's statement. Cloud quickly found a towel and some rope. He started with the short-haired one, as soon as he was dry; Cloud tied him up and laid him against the bulkhead.

Cloud then got a fresh towel and dried off the long-haired man whose face was twisted in an expression of agony.

"They are so infected with Geostigma that's it's too much of a shock to their bodies," Vincent replied.

"This rain is curing the Geostigma?" Tifa asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Cloud replied and showed her his arm which showed no signs of illness anymore. He carefully tied up the long-haired brother who was shuddering horribly and propped him up next to his brother.

"Do you even know what their names are?" Cid asked, looking over at the two unconscious men on this ship.

"No," Cloud replied bluntly. "Take us to the church, please, this children will be waiting for me."

Cid shrugged and did as Cloud ordered.

After the church . . .

Cloud went back on board the Sierra trying to figure out what to do with his prisoners, only to find that the short haired one was free and had moved to tend to his brother. Cloud watched as the short-haired man snapped the rope tying up his long-haired brother.

"What are you planning on doing?" Cloud asked quietly. The short-haired man spun around to face him, mildly unsteady on his feet.

"Nii-San?" he asked.

"I'm not really your brother," Cloud replied with a sigh. "But you can call me that."

"What are you going to do with us?" the short-haired man demanded, standing between Cloud and his fallen brother.

"I want to help you," Cloud replied honestly.

"Where's Kadaj?"

"He's gone," Cloud replied sadly, remembering Kadaj dying in his arms. "But at least you two are alive. What's your name?"

"Loz," replied sadly, mourning his brother.

"Hn," Cloud replied processing the information.

"Ah!" the long-haired man cried, body arching painfully. Loz whipped around and held his brother so he wouldn't hurt himself with his thrashing.

"Loz, what's wrong with him?" Cloud asked.

"Yazoo is very sick," Loz replied. "Will you help him? Can you, Nii-San?" Loz looked a Cloud hopefully.

"We'll try," cloud promised. "Can I trust you?"

"Hai," Loz replied as Yazoo's body calmed. "Ka-San isn't calling us anymore."

"Good," Cloud replied after a moment's hesitation.

Yazoo slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Cloud from Loz's brotherly embrace. "Nii-San?" he asked weakly.

Cloud nodded silently as he and Loz helped Yazoo sit up. Cloud opened a canteen of water and offered it to Yazoo.

"Kadaj?" Yazoo asked taking a careful sip with Loz's help.

"Dead," Loz replied with tears in his eyes.

"Don't cry, Loz," Yazoo comforted, placing a hand on Loz's shoulder.

"I'm not crying!" Loz insisted looking even more upset.

"Heh," Yazoo laughed before groaning in pain.

"Your bandages need to be changed," Loz said.

"And yours?" Yazoo asked.

"I'm fine," Loz replied. "You're sicker than me."

"Is it the Geostigma?" Cloud asked.

"Hai, Nii-San," Yazoo replied. "Loz, help me out of this coat."

Loz nodded and carefully removed Yazoo's gloves and Cloud gave a sharp intake of breath seeing how blackened Yazoo's hand was. Loz then carefully helped Yazoo remove his coat revealing the black and red bandages.

"I've been like this for a while," Yazoo replied to Cloud's unspoken question. "But there's no cure for the Geostigma."

"There is, but it nearly killed both of you," Vincent corrected coming into view with the med-kit.

"The rain?" Loz and Yazoo asked in unison.

"They life stream in the rain water," Vincent replied. "There is a pool of it in the church."

"Perhaps if we . . ." Yazoo paused holding his chest and hand in agony. A few moments passed and Yazoo could breath again. "We could dilute the lifestream in douched water."

"I'll try for you," Loz offered.

"Either way," Yazoo replied. "We have to do something soon, I don't have long. But . . ." he trailed off starting into the distance unseeingly.

"But what?" Loz asked. "Do you still hear Ka-San? Or Sephiroth?" Cloud and Vincent looked at him questioningly.

"I hear . . ." Yazoo began, eyes becoming unfocused. "I hear Kadaj and . . . some woman with a nice voice." Yazoo stiffened for a moment before collapsing sideways.

"Yazoo!" Loz cried, catching his brother.

"Ka-San's voice is gone," Yazoo murmured before falling unconscious.

"Eh, looks like one of those brats is awake," Cid commented as he stepped onto the bridge looking at Loz. "What's wrong with your long-haired friend?"

"Stop it, Cid," Tifa ordered walking past Cid to kneel next to Yazoo. "He's got Geostigma, pretty bad from the looks of it."

"Really? I thought they started it?" Cid replied taking a drag from his cigarette.

"No! We hurt more than you know!" Loz snapped.

"Easy boys!" Tifa ordered. "Now is not the time for this! We have a very sick man on our hands. Now . . ." she paused looking at Loz and giving him and odd look.

"Yazoo," he replied pointing at his brother. "I'm Loz."

"Thank you," Tifa replied. "Now, it looks like Yazoo needs those bandages changed and then we'll head to the church. That miracle water is there."

"But they can't touch it," Cloud countered.

"Right," Tifa replied with a laugh. "I forgot."

Cloud shook his head silently, mildly amused.

"Then what can we do for them?" she asked, looking at the two of them with concern in her eyes.

"Nii-San has an idea," Loz replied. "If we put some of the church water with regular water then we should be alright."

"But how are you supposed to test this theory?" Cid asked, looking as though he didn't care one way or the other.

"You'll test it on me," Loz replied as though it was the most logical thing in the world.

"Why you?" Barret asked

Loz's eyebrows furrowed for a moment. "Because my Geostigma isn't as bad as his, so if this doesn't work he won't have to suffer."

"You really care about each other, don't you?" Marlene asked, walking up to Loz fearlessly.

"He's my only family," Loz replied nodding sadly.

"I know Cloud will find a way to help your brother," Marlene replied with a not of finality in her young voice. She hugged Loz comfortingly and the others were surprised as Loz put an arm around her accepting the gesture. "Hey, why don't you come play with us while they help your brother?" she asked pulling on Loz's arm.

"But . . ." Loz tried to protest.

"He'll be fine," Tifa assured him.

"Okay," Loz consented after another moment's hesitation. He allowed Marlene to drag him outside. Barret followed the two, not trusting their new "ally" yet.

"Cid, take us to the church please," Cloud asked.

"Fine," Cid replied with a grumble. The Sierra took off and Barret waved to them. Loz was still being dragged along by Marlene who lead him to Tifa's bar, 7th Heaven. The last thing they saw was a mob of excited children; including Denzel, jumping on Barret and Loz.

Cloud gave a small smile before turning back to Yazoo. The long-haired man lay against the bulkhead. Cloud carefully began unwrapping Yazoo's wounds.

"Here let me help you," Tifa. She winced as she noticed how black Yazoo's right hand was. "It's a wonder he was able to fight at all."

"They're all stronger than they look," Cloud said as he removed the bandaged around Yazoo's torso. The bandages cam off slowly, reopening several scabs and causing fresh bleeding.

"Yuck," Cid muttered seeing the blackened ooze dripping from the Geostigma on Yazoo's right bicep. "Is that what the Geostigma looks like? 'Cause that's just freaky."

"Yes, that's what it looks like when it's extremely bad," Cloud replied. "Most people die when it gets this bad."

"The Jenova cells are what's keeping him alive," Vincent said walking up to look at Yazoo.

"I thought as mush," Cloud replied as he and Tifa began cleaning Yazoo's wounds.

"Do you think will be able to find a way to cure their Geostigma?" Tifa asked.

"I hope so," Cloud replied.

"You know, yer awfully worried about someone who was your enemy not that long ago," Cid commented.

"They were lied to, and confused," Vincent replied. "They've had Geostigma as long or longer than anyone. They thought that once they had Reunion they'd be like everyone else."

"Ungh," Yazoo groaned and opened his eyes weakly.

"Daijobu?" Tifa asked.

"Hn," Yazoo replied shaking his head.

"We're taking you to the church Cloud lives at," Tifa said after a moment. "Can we trust you to not try anything?"

"Hn," Yazoo replied again, only this time he nodded. Yazoo said nothing and laid back, allowing Cloud and Tifa to finish binding his Geostigma. "Thank you," he said at last standing unsteadily and putting his coat and gloves back on.

TBC . . .


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Reunion of Brothers

Author: Chimera Dragon

Translations: Nii-San – Big Brother

Nii-chan – Little Brother

Ka-San – Mother

Daijobu – Okay/I'm alright

Gomen nasai – I'm very sorry (I broke it up because he's gasping)

Nani – What?

Chapter 2

A few days later . . .

Cloud, Loz, and Yazoo had recovered the remains of Loz's bike as well as having brought back Yazoo and Kadaj's bikes. Yazoo worked on tuning up his own while Loz rebuilt his from the scraps of his old bike.

Yazoo and Loz stayed with Cloud at the church. Loz particularly enjoyed getting help watch the kids because they like playing with him. The kids loved the fact that one of the 'adults' enjoyed paying with them as much as Loz did. Loz would often toss one of the children high into the air and then catch them. The first time Cloud and Tifa had walked in on such a scene they both nearly lost it and attacked Loz.

Begin Flashback

A little girl screamed, as she flew high into the air. Cloud and Tifa had just entered the church and started to fun to her when Yazoo stood up form one of the pews and stopped him.

"Watch, Nii-San," Yazoo said and held Cloud's shoulder.

Loz caught the little girl who giggled and hugged him. The silver-haired man laughed and set her on the ground, she pouted at him for a moment. "It's someone else's turn."

"Okay Loz-Nii-San!" she replied running to the back of the line to next Loz.

"Loz," Yazoo called quietly.

"Hai, Nii-San?" Loz asked, turning to look with two kids hanging from his powerful arms.

Cloud stared in disbelief for a moment.

"Nii-San!" Loz called waving to Cloud awkwardly.

"Big Brother Loz! You promised to play with us!" one of the children on his arm whined.

Loz smiled and set down one of the children and threw the one that was whining into the air and caught them with little effort.

"The children were bored, so Loz offered to play with them since you two weren't here. I've been watching over them," Yazoo said dropping his arm tiredly.

"Thank you," Cloud replied, placing a hand on Yazoo's shoulder.

"How long have you two been here?" Tifa asked.

"Three or four hours. Loz is training," Yazoo replied with a shrug. "He used to do the same thing with me."

"Oh," Tifa replied, looking between Yazoo and the children. "Must be easier with the kids."

Yazoo laughed for a moment. "I'm heavier, but he also has to catch them. It evens out in the end."

End flashback

Cloud walked into the church and saw Yazoo with several of the older children teaching them what appeared to be ancient history. Yazoo looked up and locked eyes with Cloud for a moment before turning back to what he was doing.

Cloud continued through the church carrying a silver canister. He quickly found Loz working on his motorcycle. Loz had nearly finished rebuilding the body of his bike, he looked up at Cloud from half under his bike.

"I've got the water to try again," Cloud said holding up the canister marked with the symbol of Shinra on it.

"Good," Loz replied climbing out from under the motorcycle and wiped his hands off. The two of them walked over to Yazoo who looked up at them and stood, laying his book on the ground.

"Yes, Nii-San?" Yazoo asked looking at Cloud.

"We're going to try again, did you want to watch?" Cloud asked.

"No, I'm going to rest," Yazoo replied looking tired. He turned to the children who had been sitting with him. "We're done for today."

Some of the children groaned and slowly moved away to find something else to do.

"How'd you get them so interested in History?" Cloud asked. "And why were you teaching them?"

"Tifa, 'asked' me to. And you simply have teach in a way that," Yazoo tilted his head to the side," appeals to them. Go, try the cure and let me know how that goes." Yazoo laid down on one of the pews and closed his eyes.

Cloud looked at the book Yazoo had been teaching from and noticed the black ooze that was on edges of the book. He looked back at where Yazoo laid and saw the pained expression on the long-haired man's face. Yazoo's arm twitched and his right hand; which fell to touch the ground, had black ooze dripping slowly from his gloved hand.

"Come, Nii-San, we should hurry," Loz said motioning to the back of the church. Loz stopped for a moment to place Yazoo's hand gently back onto his chest and let him get was rest he could.

Cloud took a shot glass and filled it with from the pool of water under the open roof of the church. The water glowed with a faint green light.

"Yazoo said this should be the right amount," Cloud said and poured the shot glass into the canister and swirled the water.

Loz silently took his coat off and unwrapped his forearm. Cloud dipped the shot glass into the new water from the canister and carefully poured it over Loz's arm.

"How's that?" Cloud asked as they both watched the Geostigma disappear from his arm in a swirl of green light.

"No pain at all," Loz replied with a grin. Cloud gave a minuscule smile and poured more of the water on Loz's bicep. "We can cure Nii-San!"

"Yes we can," Cloud replied as they hear the roar of a motorcycle engine and the squeal of tires on dirt and pavement.

"Cloud-Nii-San! Loz-Nii-San!" one of the children cried running into the room while Loz quickly put his coat back on, looking as though he sensed something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked kneeling in front of the child, a little boy.

"Yazoo-Nii-san ran away!" the child cried bursting into tears and clinging to Cloud.

"What?" Loz demanded. He knelt next to Cloud and put a gentle hand on the boy's back. "Please, tell us exactly what happened! You'll help us find, Nii-San."

"He was just lying there sleeping 'cause he's been really sick," the child began with a sniffle, trying to be brave. "He moaned and sat up real fast. Then he ran out the door and rode off."

"Did he say anything?" Cloud asked.

"Nii-chan, I think," the boy replied thinking hard. "And something that sounded like Kay-dodge!" he smiled at them proudly.

"Thank you," Loz replied and stood. He picked up his re-made Dual Hound and stalked out of the church. He sat down on Kadaj's bike and waited for Cloud.

"Do you have any idea where he's going?" Cloud asked as he hopped on Fenrir.

"No, but we can follow his tracks, and I can . . . feel him," Loz replied, eyes distant for a moment. "Do you have the cure with you?"

Cloud nodded and showed Loz the container. The two of them took off following the faint trail left by Yazoo's motorcycle.

Several Hours Later . . .

Cloud and Loz had finally lost Yazoo's trail when they reached the glowing forest of Ajit. Cloud shivered slightly looking at the forest.

Loz sat back and closed his eyes. He raised his arm, pointing deeper into the forest. "He's by a body of water . . ." Loz said, voice distant and hollow.

"Loz, is he at the lake where you all took the children?" Cloud asked not relishing the idea.

"I don't know," Loz replied with a sigh of defeat. His shoulders slumped and he looked near crying.

"Come on," Cloud said putting a comforting hand on Loz's shoulder. "We'll find him."

"I know we will," Loz replied, straightening his shoulders. "I'll lead," Loz said commandingly. Cloud nodded and followed Loz as they took of breakneck speed. They finally arrived at the lake where Cloud laid Aerith to rest. They looked up and saw Yazoo walking to the deepest spot. Yazoo's body looked out of focus and his face was twisted in agony.

Cloud set the canister into one of Fenrir's compartments and followed Loz into the water.

"Nii-San!" Loz called. "Stop! You'll hurt yourself!"

"Nii . . . chan . . ." Yazoo mumbled, voice hollow. He half knelt in the water until only his head was above the surface. He stood back up and turned around with Kadaj in his arms. Kadaj's face was peaceful and it looked as though he was asleep.

"Yazoo? Nii-San? What's going on?" Loz asked worriedly. Yazoo slowly walked over to them and laid Kadaj in Cloud's arms.

Kadaj groaned and curled into Cloud's chest with a groan of, "Nii-San, I missed you."

Yazoo sighed and collapsed face-down in the water.

"Nii-San!" Loz cried and picked up Yazoo from the water and easily carried him back to shore. He gently laid his shuddering brother on the ground and carefully removed Yazoo's jacket.

"Let me help you," Cloud offered as he propped Kadaj against the side of Fenrir. He opened yet another compartment and pulled out a towel. Between the tow of them they got Yazoo dried off. Yazoo continued to shudder, body arching off the ground in pain.

"Yazoo-Nii-San," Loz begged, tears in his eyes. "Please don't leave us." Loz held Yazoo's hand as though Yazoo could use his strength.

"Hm," Kadaj murmured waking up and stretching like a cat. "Nii-chan? What's going on? Why do you two look so stressed out?"

"Nii-San is dying!" Loz cried, tears began rolling down his face as Yazoo's body gave a particularly hard shudder.

"What?" Kadaj demanded quickly kneeling next to Yazoo. "You damned idiot! You were supposed to wait until you found the cure!" Kadaj snarled looking as though he might start crying as well.

"We did find it," Loz replied. "We just didn't get a chance to give it to him before he came to find you."

"It's true," Cloud replied pulling the Shinra canister out of Fenrir.

Kadaj growled in frustration. "I don't know how much good that's going to do at this point. His body may reject it now."

"Ka-San!" Yazoo screamed hands in front of himself as though to ward something away. "No! I won't! I won't become that!" Yazoo protested weakly.

"Nani?" Cloud asked confused.

"It looks as though JENOVA-Ka-San is trying to use him," Kadaj replied placing a soothing hand on his brother's forehead. "We'll have to try that cure of yours."

"G-gomen . . .na . . . sai" Yazoo gasped weakly, eyes open a bit and clouded with pain as his body continued to shudder.

"Why didn't you wait?" Kadaj asked, tears welling up.

"Nii-San," Loz cried piteously.

"Daijobu, Nii-chan," Yazoo replied, placing a hand on Loz's arm. "Don't cry."

"I'm not crying!" Loz insisted, wiping his eyes.

"Let's see if this cure will work," Kadaj said looking up at Cloud. When they looked back down Yazoo had passed out again.

"Right," Cloud replied as he, Loz, and Kadaj unwrapped the various spots of Geostigma. "Do you want me to do it?"

"Sure," Kadaj replied. Cloud opened the canister and poured some of the water down Yazoo's arm.

"Do you think it'll work?" Loz asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Sure it will," Kadaj assured. "Just have faith in Nii-San."

Yazoo sighed in relief as the Geostigma on his arm evaporated in a swirl of green light. "Thank you," he murmured in his sleep.

Kadaj smiled and helped Loz lean Yazoo forward so that Cloud could pour more of the water on his back. Yazoo's body gave a final shudder as the last of the Geostigma disappeared.

"Thank goodness that worked," Kadaj sighed. The two of them gently laid him back down on the ground.

"Nii-San?" Loz asked looking at Kadaj. "I-we thought you had died. We saw you . . ."

". . . go into the Life stream," Yazoo finished opening his eyes a bit.

"I did, but," Kadaj began uncertainly. "She said that I was still needed."

"Ka-San?" Loz asked curiously.

"No, it was this really nice woman," Kadaj replied sounding wistful. "She wore a lot of pink and . . ."

"She had a really nice voice?" Yazoo asked.

"Yeah," Kadaj replied.

"That sounds like Aerith," Cloud murmured to himself.

"Is that her name?" Kadaj asked looking at Cloud. "She's really nice but didn't tell me her name. She and some guy with spiky black hair took care of me while I was in the Life stream."

"Zack?" Cloud asked.

"He said, 'tell Cloud that he's doing a good job,'" Kadaj replied.

Cloud looked stunned for a moment.

"I'm just glad you came back," Yazoo said stilly lying limply on the ground. He sat up; still a little weak, and hugged Kadaj tightly. Loz sniffled and suddenly grabbed Cloud and bear-hugged the three of them together.

Cloud grunted, Yazoo hn'd, and Kadaj squeaked.

"Loz, I think you are breaking ribs," Yazoo finally said as he patted his brother's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Nii-San," Loz replied sheepishly as he loosened his hold.

"Kadaj grunted and massaged his ribs. "No harm, no foul."

"So, now what do we do?" Yazoo asked getting slowly to his feet. "I don't hear Ka-San's constant call anymore. Do you, Kadaj?"

"No, her voice seems to be gone. I think we should find our real parents. JENOVA-Ka-San wasn't really our mother," Kadaj replied.

"But how will we find them?" Loz asked.

"We research, Yazoo replied simply as he carefully put his coat back on. "We should start with the old Shinra building. I heard that," Yazoo began, "Some of Hojo's lab survived."

"I know that some of it survived," Cloud said speaking up. "I've been there."

"Can you take us there, Nii-San?" Kadaj asked looking hopeful. He put an arm around Yazoo's waist and helped his brother over to the motor cycles. Kadaj then helped Yazoo over to the motorcycles. Kadaj put Yazoo on his motorcycle and then sent Loz a look. /You drive, Yazoo-Nii-San's bike back to where ever we're staying./

/Okay." Loz replied and got onto Yazoo's motorcycle.

/Do you want me to ride with you/ Yazoo asked looking at Kadaj. /I'm fairly certain I can hold on./

/Yes, I'll have you with me./ Kadaj replied with a nod, and Loz nodded back at them.

"What's going on?" Cloud asked watching as Kadaj mounted how own bike in front of Yazoo.

"We're following you back, Nii-San," Kadaj replied.

/He doesn't know./ Yazoo reprimanded gently.

/Oh, I forgot./ Kadaj replied, mildly sheepish. He looked over at Cloud. /Sorry, Nii-San./ Kadaj "spoke" to Cloud.

Cloud had turned to look at the lake for a moment. "it's alright," Cloud replied looking back at the brothers.

/No, Nii-San, he didn't speak aloud./ Yazoo corrected.

Cloud stared at them in shock for a moment. "You can . . ."

/Speak telepathically/ Yazoo asked mildly amused.

"How . . . ?" Cloud asked dumbfounded.

"It was something that Hojo," Yazoo began, looking disgusted at the thought of Hojo, "thought it would be beneficial in battle and for missions. He once told me that anyone related to the Sephiroth project would be able to hear us and that we can hear them."

"Why me?" Cloud asked curious.

"You have enough Jenova in you that you're practically related to us," Yazoo replied. "That's why you're our Nii-San."

"But how is that ability possible?" Cloud asked hopping on Fenrir.

"I don't know," Yazoo replied as he and his brothers shrugged. "We just can. It's like the way Sephiroth controlled you at the temple of the Ancients. We should get back to the church. The children are probably worried about what happened to us."

"Okay," Cloud replied still a little amazed by what he had just witnessed. The three of them rode back to the church in complete silence.

TBC . . .


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Reunion of Brothers

Author: Chimera Dragon

Translations: Nii-San – Big Brother

Nii-chan – Little Brother

Ka-San – Mother

Daijobu – Okay/I'm alright

Gomen nasai – I'm very sorry

Nani – What?

Daijobu desu ka? – Are you alright?

"Concentrate on me and what you want me to hear," Yazoo urged, sitting across from Cloud at the dinning table.

/Can you hear this/ Cloud asked loudly.

Yazoo winced while Kadaj spun around; sword drawn, looking for the source of the trouble. Cloud looked at them confused.

"What did I do wrong this time?" Cloud asked.

"Nothing bad. It was just too loud, but much better. You are truly doing better," Yazoo amended. He had been teaching Cloud to speak with the brothers telepathically since Kadaj had come back in Ajit. They had found that Cloud could hear them even when he was two towns away. Although the farther away, the less distinct and fainter the message and the feeling.

"This is hard work, how long did it take you three to get this down so well?" Cloud asked, looking tired.

"Two months of sleepless days and nights," Yazoo replied solemnly, he looked down at the table lost in memory.

"Hojo wouldn't let us rest until we got it right," Kadaj added, hand tightening on the hilt of his sword.

"He was a horrible person," Cloud replied comfortingly. "He did a lot of nasty things to a lot people."

"Yes he did," Yazoo replied sadly. Kadaj re-sheathed his Renbatou and hugged Yazoo tightly.

"What happened with you?" Cloud asked, mildly curious.

"H-he," Yazoo began, but stopped; trembling in Kadaj's arms.

/Calm down, Nii-San. He can't get you anymore. You're safe with us. / Kadaj soothed as he gently petted Yazoo's hair.

"What's going on?" Cloud asked, noting how badly Yazoo was trembling and feeling the echo of Yazoo's panic and pain. Yazoo was staring at the table, eyes blank.

"Hojo," Loz replied walking into the room and looking worried, he walked right over to Yazoo and knelt next to him before hugging him around the waist.

"What did Hojo do to him?" Cloud asked worried.

"Hojo raised him for four years in the labs before he had contact with Loz or myself," Kadaj began. "He didn't teach Yazoo to speak. He had to learn it from other people and listening to them talk with each other. Hojo would hit and beat badly him anytime he said something wrong, used slang, or mispronounced something. With the accelerated growth that was used on all of us . . . few people in those labs knew or cared that he didn't know how to speak properly. But Nii-San is smart and understood what was being said to him, it just took him a while to say it."

"He freaks out when he mispronounces something or stutters," Loz added. "It doesn't bother him when someone else does, but he's not so forgiving of himself."

"I understand," Cloud replied.

Yazoo moaned and blinked several times before noticing the room around him once again.

Kadaj and Loz both refused to let go of him.

"Daijobu desu ka, Nii-San?" Kadaj asked, nuzzling Yazoo's hair.

"Hai, just bad memories," Yazoo replied still sounding a bit out of touch with reality.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Cloud asked, placing a hand on Yazoo's shoulder and looking concerned.

"Yes, I will be," Yazoo replied trying to look normal. He placed a hand on Loz's head, stroking his hair, and at the same time he laid his head against Kadaj. "It usually is not this bad, when I have a panic attack."

Kadaj rubbed Yazoo's back soothingly. Loz continued to hug Yazoo while crying, his sobs somewhat quiet.

"Shh, don't cry Loz," Yazoo soothed, still running his gloved hand through Loz's hair.

"I'm not crying!" Loz insisted still hugging Yazoo.

"Cloud! You have a-," Tifa called walking into the back room of the church. She stopped up seeing the brothers hugging each other. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Kadaj replied, standing up straight but not taking his right arm off of his brother.

"Just . . . had some bad memories got dragged up," Cloud added, knowing that Tifa's caring nature wouldn't let it stay at Kadaj's statement.

"Ah," Tifa replied knowingly. "Well, you have a set of deliveries, Cloud."

"Where to?" Cloud asked, walking over and opening his phone. He stood ready to note where he was heading.

"Well, you have one to Wutai, one to Rocket Town, one to the Golden Saucer, and the last is to Gonoga," Tifa replied looking at the list in her hand.

"That'll take me about three weeks, assuming it goes smoothly," Cloud replied with a small sigh.

Yazoo turned to look at Cloud. "We could help you, Nii-San," he said.

"What?" Tifa asked looking at the three silver-haired brothers, mildly surprised.

"We want to help," Kadaj replied with a long suffering sigh.

"You do?" Tifa asked, inwardly pleased to hear that they wanted to help.

"We would like to get out of here, at least for while. What better way than to be useful?" Yazoo asked, tilting his head a bit, though he continued to run his hand through Loz's hair.

"We could make three of the deliveries for him, or we could go in pairs," Kadaj offered. "It takes less time to deal with the random monsters on the way if we pair up. But it doesn't take us much time to deal with them anyway." He shrugged carelessly.

Yazoo nodded in agreement as Loz mumbled something incoherently.

"Did he fall asleep?" Kadaj asked motioning at Loz, mildly amused.

Yazoo nodded silently as he smiled down at Loz.

"Sometimes he really confuses me," Kadaj said. He turned back to look at Cloud. "Oh well," he shrugged. "So, do you want us to help you make your deliveries, Nii-San?"

"Hm," Cloud looked at the list again. "Yes, I'd like your help. It would mean getting home sooner. With the four of us it would take a week at the most."

"That sounds great!" Tifa said happily. "You'd be home in time for Marlene's birthday party! Everyone is coming to visit."

"You have parties to celebrate the day of your birth?" Yazoo asked suddenly. Loz still seemed to be sleeping soundly with his head in Yazoo's lap. Kadaj turned to look at Cloud and Tifa, questioning them with his eyes.

"Of course!" Tifa replied a little confused. "You know, with cake, and ice-cream, and gifts . . ." she trailed off seeing the crestfallen look in Kadaj's eyes and the way Yazoo's shoulders slumped. Both Tifa and Cloud heard Loz sniffle.

"You never had a birthday party before?" Tifa asked.

"No," Kadaj replied sounding angry. "We grew up in a lab. We didn't get to have a childhood until we left, and by then all we could hear was Ka-San's call . . ."

Tifa was silent for a few moments. "Then we'll throw a party for each of you on your birthdays . . . does that sound like a good idea to you?" Tifa asked walking closer to the three. She slowly put an arm around Kadaj's shoulders; expecting him to pull away from her embrace.

"Thank you," Kadaj said allowing Tifa to comfort him.

"Nobody ever wanted to do anything nice for us," Kadaj said sadly. "Ka-San said she would but . . ."

"What are we delivering?" Yazoo asked Cloud changing the subject.

"They didn't say exactly what was being delivered, but they will be delivered to 7th Heaven tomorrow for delivery. Half of the delivery fee is going to be paid upfront and the rest will be given at each drop off," Tifa answered.

"That sounds interesting," Yazoo replied, head tilted to the side. "It is a good thing that Loz's motorcycle has been rebuilt."

"Who's making which delivery?" Loz asked.

"We could draw for it if you want to do it randomly," Cloud suggested with a careless shrug.

"I'd like to go to the Golden Saucer, if that's okay," Loz replied.

"Okay, take my lifetime pass," Cloud said pulling it out from one of his pockets.

"Thank you," Loz replied as he put the ticket in his pocket.

"I will go to Wutai," Yazoo suggested with a careless shrug.

"I'll go to Rocket Town," Kadaj said suddenly with a grin.

"I'm sure Cid will get a kick out of that," Tifa said with a laugh.

"Then I'll go to Gonoga," Cloud replied. "Now, we should rest up and prepare for tomorrow."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Kadaj replied.

"Hn," Yazoo added with a nod. The three stood as one and turned towards their room.

/Sleep well, Nii-San. / Kadaj said with a happy sigh that they'd get to help Cloud and prove that they were still useful.

"Night," Loz said cheerfully nodding to Cloud and Tifa.

/ We shall see you in the morning. Sleep well, Nii-San. / Yazoo said as he disappeared behind the door.

/ Good night. / Cloud replied, still a little lout but not as bad as before.

The next morning . . .

The three brothers came out for breakfast the next morning still dressed in their sleep wear. Loz wore a dark grey tank top and baggy black sweat pants. He ran a hand through his messy hair and it went back into place again.

Kadaj was the next to emerge, yawning and stretching. He wore a loose blue t-shirt and dark blue sweatpants. He shuffled into the room with his hair a little bit frizzy around the edges.

Yazoo was the last to leave their room. He wore a loose long-sleeve light grey shirt and black sleep pants; his hair was tied back in loose braid. He walked silently over to the stove to start breakfast.

Kadaj found the orange juice from the fridge and put that on the table with Loz set the dishes out for four. Yazoo began grilling some bacon with scrambling eggs; all the while he was blinking sleepily.

Cloud walked into the kitchen sniffing at the smell of fresh food cooking. "That smells good," he murmured, more to himself than to anyone in the room.

/ Thank you, Nii-San. / Yazoo replied, still cooking with his back to Cloud.

"Come, sit down," Kadaj invited. "We've set a place for you."

"Yazoo is a god cook," Loz added.

Yazoo laughed quietly upon hearing the praise. "Arigato, Loz. Here," he said putting the bacon on each plate. He went back to the stove and got the pan of scrambled eggs. He then scrapped them onto the plates. "Enjoy." He walked over to skin, ran hot water and put the pans in the sink to soak while they ate.

The four of them ate in relative silence and when they were done Loz stood and began washing the dishes in the sink with Kadaj cleared the table and Yazoo wiped it down.

"We'll be heading out today. Meet me at 7th Heaven when you're ready to leave. Okay?" Cloud asked.

10 minutes later . . .

The four men met at the counter of 7th Heaven. Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo sat at the counter murmuring amongst themselves. Cloud was the last to arrive and found the brothers waiting for him. Loz was drinking a glass of milk while Kadaj and Yazoo were giving odd looks at the two glasses of blue liquid that Tifa had put in front of them before heading off to do something in the back.

"What is that?" cloud asked.

"I don't know," Kadaj replied, poking at the glass with one finger. "She put them in front of us and said, 'try this.' Then she walked off."

"Hm, it smells like berries," Yazoo added quietly, as he carefully sniffled at the glass Kadaj wasn't poking at.

"You two still haven't tried them?" Tifa asked exasperatedly. She put her hands on her hips. "There's no alcohol in them. I'm trying to make drinks for the kids during the day."

"It is blue," Yazoo stated, motion to his glass. "A very vibrant blue at that."

"Yeah, so?" Tifa replied.

"Why didn't you give one to Loz?" Kadaj asked.

"Because he already had one," Tifa replied. Loz's shoulders were shaking as he tried to hold in his laughter.

"You!" Kadaj seethed as he pointed an accusing finger at Loz.

"Yes, Nii-san?" Loz asked trying to look innocent.

"You knew!" Kadaj accused.

"Yes, and it's really good," Loz replied. "I thought you two would have tried it already."

"Alright," Yazoo said and took a small sip, looking very much like a tentative cat. His eyes widened and he set down his glass.

"Yazoo, are you alright?" Kadaj asked worriedly.

"Yes, it is just very . . . sweet. A little too sweet for my tastes. I prefer sour," he pushed his glass over to Loz.

"Okay," Kadaj said and took a sip and grinned before quickly downing the rest. "That's really good."

"Thank you," Tifa said writing some in a notebook before clearing the glasses away.

"So, are we free to go?" Cloud asked with a chuckle.

"For now," Tifa replied with an evil smile.

"That woman scares me sometimes," Kadaj said as Tifa walked off. "Really nice, but scary."

"You don't know the half of it," Cloud sighed.

Tifa walked back in with four non-descript looking packages. She set one in front of each of them. Each one had a label with the name of a city on it. "They aren't very heavy, maybe ten pounds a piece. Good luck," Tifa said and handed each a small white box. "These are lunches to get you started.

"Thank you, Tifa," Yazoo said as he picked up his two boxes and turned to walk out.

"Thanks!" Loz said cheerfully grabbing his own.

"We'll be seeing you later," Kadaj said.

"Hn," Cloud said grabbing his boxes as well.

"See you all in a week," Tifa replied watching as the four of them left the bar. "May you all come back safely."

TBC . . .


End file.
